Factory Orders Definition
An economic indicator which consist of two separate indicators; durable and non-durable goods orders. The non-durable goods orders include items such as food, clothing, tobacco products and other products that help with the maintainence of durable goods.
The factory orders numbers are reported monthly by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The report helps economists determine whether the economy is expanding or not. An increase win factory orders could indicate an expansion and could signal that inflation is on the rise.
Because the durable goods orders are reported one or two weeks earlier, the factory orders report is fairly predictable, due to the fact that the nondurables component is the only new data reported. The Factory orders report is not usually a market mover, but can draw attention when revised durable goods orders are made to the report.